The Time Regulation Institute (58 page)

After he uttered these words, my wife took his hand and kissed it. He strode into the dining room.

The crowd heaved around us. And suddenly everyone was just as they had been before; in fact they were even friendlier. A
couple who had been on the brink of a divorce just two days before, and had been mingling about separately for the last two hours, made peace and kissed each other right in front of me. A couple whose engagement had turned sour suddenly sprang back to life right then and there. The groups of three reformed. No, these men were now as open and pure in their newfound joy as they had been hostile and embittered just a moment earlier.

At the dinner table, I asked Halit Ayarcı, “What about the others? The little people?”

Suddenly his face flushed.

“Well, that's why I've done what I've done,” he said. “But as for those working at the regulation stations, there's nothing we can do. You will have to work with them.”

“But you, why don't you work with them?” I asked.

He looked at me, astonished.

“I . . . I can see now how I was deceived.”

And with that, he began devouring his food.

Later that evening, after the crowd had broken up, we met again in my office. But there was a strange tension between us. In fact he seemed even more remote than that first time I met him in the coffeehouse in Sehzadebası. We played a round of backgammon. And when the game finished, we parted with a “good-bye and Godspeed.” The next time I saw Halit Ayarcı, he was laid out on his bed at home, following his terrible car accident.

A GUIDE TO TURKISH PRONUNCIATION

a
as in “father”

e
as in “pet”

o
as in “oh”

u
like the
oo
in “boot”

ı
like the
u
in “but”

ü
like the
u
in “mute”

ö
as in German:
schön

c
like the
j
in “jam”

ç
sounds like
ch

g
is almost silent, lengthening the preceding vowel

j
as in French:
jamais

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TURKISH NAMES AND HONORIFICS

Ottoman Turks did not generally have surnames. But they had a great wealth of first names, most of which carried lyrical, even ethereal, meanings. The surnames that Atatürk obliged all Turks to adopt almost overnight in
1934
also carried clear meanings. By and large, they reflected the new range of secular virtues and attitudes. Tanpınar has great fun with this cultural disconnect, and never more so than with Halit Ayarcı: translated literally, he becomes the “Timeless Regulator.” He and his sidekick, the “Blessed” Hayri, are similarly playful in their use of honorifics. This, too, is a time-honored tradition, and yet another double game: even as they and their associates defer to social hierarchies, they can savor the irony, and even the veiled insult, in the use of an overly elevated term.

It would be misleading to suggest that all Tanpınar's characters carry hidden jokes in their names. But it would be shame to lose them
all in translation. Below we translate a few of the most significant names, along with a list of honorifics.

Names

Abdüsselam:
the pacifist, a servant of God; also mandrake.

Aristidi:
the best (interesting considering his struggles with Lutfullah).

Asaf:
vizier, one of great insight.

Aselban:
caretaker of one of the four waters in heaven.

Ayarcı:
the regulator.

Cemal:
one with the beautiful countenance (deliberately ironic: Hayri rearranges his face).

Çesminigâr:
an Ottoman winter soup made with egg and flour; the beloved's eye.

Halit:
lasting, constant, eternal.

Hayri:
blessed, auspicious, fortunate.

Lutfullah:
blessed or loved by God (equivalent to Amadeus)

Nasit:
the reciter of poetry (as he proves a smooth talker at the trial and in his newly elevated position after marrying the aunt).

Nuri:
pertaining to light, the one lit by the spiritual light of saintliness (it is “nur” in our “honor”).

Pakize:
clean, pure, innocent.

Honorifics

Aziz:
saint; dear, as in “my dear friend.”

Aga:
lord, master, gentleman, village headman (sometimes spelled “agha”).

Bey:
gentleman, sir.

Beyefendi:
gentleman, sir but of a higher status or degree than “bey.”

Baldız:
sister-in-law.

Efendi:
master; also commonly added to a first name to lend a sense of higher standing or social rank.

Hanım:
madam, lady.

Hanımefendi:
madam or lady but of a higher status than “hanım.”

Hoca:
an imam, a teacher; used generally with first names to elevate the sense of status or importance.

Hoca
efendi:
same as “hoca” but with even higher status; that is, esteemed hoca.

Usta:
master, specialist; also added to names to stress the individual's importance and/or capabilities.

3
A Parrot's Tale
:
the
Tuiname
or
Tutinama
(also translated as
Tales of a Parrot
), a fourteenth-century
Persian series of fifty-two stories.

4
Emsile
and
Avamil
: books of basic Arabic grammar and model language.

4
muvakkit
: religious timekeeper and clock repairman, the official keeper of time in the Ottoman Empire, a learned man involved in the study of philosophy and astronomy.

4
Mehmed IV
: sultan of the Ottoman Empire from
1648
to
1687
.

6
kalfa
: an apprentice, master builder, foreman.

10
Turgot
: most likely Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, French economist and statesman born
1727
.

10
Necker
: a French statesman of Swiss birth and finance minister under Louis XVI.

10
Schacht
: German banker born
1877
.

11
Abdülhamid II
: Ottoman sultan.

14
Aziz
: literally refers to a saint but is aslo used as a term of endearment meaning “beloved” or “my good friend.”

20
Receb
: the seventh month of the Arabic calendar; considered one of the three holy months.

21
karagöz
: one of the lead characters in traditional Turkish shadow-puppet theater.

21
Efendi
: literally “master” but commonly used for “sir.”

21
iftar
: the breaking of the fast at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan.

21
sahur
: predawn meal before the day of fasting during Ramadan.

21
bismillah
: a common oath meaning “dear God” or “in the name of God.”

23
Egyptian Affair
: either the first Egyptian-Ottoman War (
1831
–
33
) or the second (
1839
–
41
).

26
makamsher
: a mode in Turkish classical music; each makam has its own particular mood.

26
alaturca
: in the Turkish or Eastern style.

26
alafranga
: in the French or Western style.

30
in that era
: after the rebellion of the Young Turks brought about the reestablishment of the constitution in
1908
.

35
medrese
: a college for Islamic instruction; in English often spelled “madrassa” or “madrasah.”

37
Armistice years
: The Mudros Armistice, signed on October
31
,
1918
, called for total and unconditional surrender of Ottoman forces at the end of the First World War. A large allied fleet reached Istanbul on November
13
,
1918
. The allied occupation of Istanbul lasted until the departure of the final attachment of British troops on October
2
,
1923
.

37
Declaration of Independence
: the birth of the Turkish Republic in
1923
.

39
Arab Mosque
: A former thirteenth-century Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to St. Paul. The only example of Gothic religious architecture in Istanbul. Renamed the Arab Mosque, after the Muslims expelled from Spain during the Inquisition. Located in Istanbul's historic Galata neighborhood.

40
the emperor Andronikos
: Andronikos I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor born c.
1118
.

42
baglama
: a stringed instrument also known as the
saz
.

46
Mahmud I
: sultan of the Ottoman Empire from
1730
to
1754
.

46
kahvecıba
s
ı
: the imperial coffee maker.

47
oya
: needlework flower chains often used to decorate the edge of a headscarf.

47
saray
: palace.

53
oud
: a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek music.

55
Kahvecıbası Cemetery
: cemetery of the imperial coffee maker.

60
han
: an Ottoman inn for commercial travelers, with a closed inner courtyard for animals.

61
Ramadan
: the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims observe a fast.

61
Kandil
: one of the five Islamic holy nights when minarets are illuminated.

61
Saban
: the eighth month of the Arabic calendar, which precedes the month of Ramadan.

69
ahretlik
: from
ahret,
meaning the afterlife; a pious man; an adopted maid committed to a lifetime of service.

70
mehdi
: prophet.

71
Mahmud Sevket Pasa
: Ottoman soldier and statesman who played a role in the overthrow of Abdülhamid II. Assassinated in
1913
.

72
hoca efendi
: an esteemed instructor.

75
kusdili
: a bird language that people use to communicate with one another.

83
Tünel
: funicular going from the Galata Bridge to Beyo
g
lu.

85
Seker Bayram
: the festival of sweets following the feast of Ramadan.

86
Kurban Bayram
: Eid ul-Adha, the sacrificial religious holiday celebrating Abraham's obedience to God.

86
Burmalı Mescit
: Built in
1540
in the Vefa neighborhood of Istanbul. Literally, the Spiral Mosque, for the spirals on its single minaret.

90
war in Anatolia
: the War of Independence (May
19
,
1919
–July
24
,
1923
) was waged by nationalists following the Allies' occupation of the land now known as Turkey in the aftermath of World War I.

94
meyhane
: a tavern serving alcohol and meze.

98
Saliha Sultan
: the mother of Ottoman sultan Mahmud I and the wife of the sultan Mustafa II.

126
onomancy
: divinations based on a person's name.

126
numerology
: the study of the purported divine or mystical relationship between numbers and perceived events.

126
alchemy
: the medieval precursor of modern chemistry, the effort to turn other solids into gold.

135
Bergson
: Henri-Louis Bergson, French philosopher active in the first half of the twentieth century.

135
Kantian imperative
: or categorical imperative, the ethical system devised by Immanuel Kant, which describes a moral law that applies to all rational beings and is independent of any personal motives or desires.

135
ortaoyunu
: a kind of improvisational theater common in coffeehouses in the Ottoman Empire.

136
meddah
: a coffeehouse storyteller or stand-up comedian.

137
bedesten
: a market where antiques, jewelry, and works of art are sold; a covered bazaar; can be used to refer to the Grand Bazaar.

138
banu
: a common name, used to refer to a beautiful woman, a lady.

138
cadu
: a derivation of the Turkish word
cadı
meaning “witch” or “sorceress.”

145
battle of Holy Ali
: either the Battle of Badr, in which Ali, successor of the prophet Muhammad according to Shia Muslims, defeated the Umayyad leader; or the Battle of Karbala', again with the Umayyad, at which Ali was killed and his succession put to an end.

180
Taflan Deva Bey
: a name meaning “the cherry laurel cure.”

215
Balıkpazarı
: a lively street market in the historical Beyo
g
lu neighborhood of Istanbul.

223
Bukagılı Dede
: an Istanbul saint; literally, the Hobbling Saint.

223
Elekçi Baba
: An Istanbul saint; literally, the Garbler.

223
Uryan Dede
: an Istanbul saint; literally, the Naked Ancestor.

223
Tezveren Sultan
: a legendary saint some say was a woman.

223
Yilanlı Dede
: an Istanbul saint; literally, the Ancestor of Snakes. People believed praying at his tomb gave them children.

223
Karpuz Hoca
: literally, Master Watermelon.

223
Sheikh Mustafa of Altıparmak
: literally, Sheikh Mustafa of Goldfinger.

223
Deli Hafi
z
: an Istanbul saint; literally, the Crazy, who has memorized the Koran.

223
Sheikh Virani
: literally, the Sheikh in Ruins.

223
Gömleksiz Dede
: An Istanbul saint; literally, the Saint Shirtless.

226
masallah
: praise God, wonderful.

230
baldız
: sister-in-law.

230
Mahur
: a
makam
in Turkish classical music, known for its lively and soothing properties.

230
Isfahan
: both a city in Iran and a
makam
in Turkish classical music.

230
Rast
: a
makam
in Turkish classical music.

278
Graham
: Benjamin Graham, an American economist and professional inventor.

278
rabia
: split seconds, famous female mystic, the fourth.

281
Çelebi
: honorific meaning “gentleman.”

286
Spengler
: Oswald Spengler, German historian of philosophy born
1880
.

301
Committee of Union and Progress
: A revolutionary political organization that aligned with the Young Turks in
1906
and oversaw the reinstatement of the constitution in
1908
. After a brief flirtation with democracy, its leaders moved back to authoritarian rule and are thought by some to have orchestrated the mass slaughter and deportation of Anatolia's Armenians. Having taken the Ottomans into World War I on the side of the Germans, the committee was disbanded, and in some cases its members court-martialed, at the war's end.

342
Osman Hamdi
: Ottoman archeologist, painter, and curator born in Istanbul in
1842
.

346
Bektasi ceremony
: the Bekta
s
i Sufi order was founded in the thirteenth century, active throughout the Ottoman Empire, and linked with the janissaries until both were banned by Mahmud II in
1826
.

350
estagfurullah
: of Arabic origin, meaning “don't mention it” or “don't so think so badly of yourself.”

353
semaiye
: a style of poem in folk literature.

354
maya
: a traditional folk song.

354
Satan's Mountain
: a legendary mountain in southeast Turkey.

358
zeybek
: a traditional dance from the Aegean region of Turkey, which calls for slow and high knee steps and arms swinging widely through the air.

378
Üç Serefli Mosque
: Built in Edirne in
1410
by Müslihiddin A
g
a, master to the famous architect Mimar Sinan, the mosque has four minarets, one rising from each corner of a large courtyard. The highest minaret has three balconies, and each balcony (
s
eref
) is accessible by a different set of stairs.